(Photo by )
Volleyball falls to UkraineU.S. blows early leads to lose, 3-0by Rachel Benedict on September 8, 2009 The U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team’s highly anticipated match against Ukraine opened with a bang Tuesday. The U.S. jumped into the lead with a Kristina Burke kill and an ace to go up 2-0 before Tamara Foronda rotated into the front and put down a scary kill to put the Americans ahead, 4-1. The Americans then started to slump, making some costly errors and losing hard-fought rallies to the Ukranians, slipping behind, 8-6. The match increasingly kept the fans on their feet as kill after kill came from both countries. A back-row kill by Foronda sided out the ball, and Justine Jeter came in for a serve while down, 8-7. Two consecutive kills by Burke then tied the score at nine. The Ukrainians won several more hard-fought rallies, giving them a 16-11 lead. “We will play point by point. Get the ball back, and we’re on our way,” head coach Lynn Ray Boren told the team during a television commercial timeout. However, the momentum of the match didn’t change, and Ukraine stayed up at 20-15 until Coach Boren called a timeout to regroup the girls. Burke answered with a kill, and Trofimenkoff followed suit with a block. The Ukranians then forced a couple errors on the Americans and went up by five. Coach Boren called an ineffective time out at 23-18, and the Ukrianians continued to a first-set win, 25-18. “We did not execute free balls, and we needed to do that,” said Burke, who had at least 16 digs and ten kills. “To win this kind of game, we need to play perfect.” The second set was no different than the first. Foronda opened with a kill, which Pia Marie Paulone followed with two aces. A team block by Foronda and Reese continued the Americans’ lead at 5-3. The Ukranians managed to grab the lead at 8-7, but a quick set from Paulone to Trofimenkoff tied the set at eight. The Americans couldn’t click and seemed frustrated as the Ukranians capitalized on their errors to go up, 13-10, and force Coach Boren to call a timeout. Foronda came back out fired up and brought in a kill. “We’re still in this game!” Foronda rallied her team. Burke responded with a kill, and Reese had an ace, tying the set at 16. The set stayed tied for a while, including a long rally that included several blocks by Trofimenkoff that fired up the Americans, especially when followed by a Paulone ace that gave the Americans a 21-20 lead. The Ukranians then called a successful timeout, emerging to reacquire the lead at 22-21. However, Foronda wouldn’t let the Ukranians hold the lead for long, putting down a kill to tie it at 22. But Ukraine got ahold of the lead once again and went up by two to 24-22 before Coach Boren called a timeout. An American error gave the Ukranians their second win, 25-22. In the third set, the Americans opened with a 2-0 lead. A Foronda kill built the lead to 4-1, and Trofimenkoff didn’t let the Ukranians get hits with several assisted blocks. Ukraine called a timeout while down, 5-1, and tacked on two points before Coach Boren called a timeout. Ludmila Mounty-Weinstock got a kill to rebuild the American’s confidence and then a block alongside Reese to put the U.S. up, 8-4. Libero Shana Lehmann led the Americans’ defense with at least 20 digs as they fought to stay on top of the Ukranians at 10-7. However, the Americans faltered yet again. A couple errors gave Ukraine chances to chip away at the U.S. lead, but a Trofimenkoff kill fired up the Americans. A long rally with saves from Burke, Lehmann and Paulone, capped with a Foronda kill, put the Americans ahead by three at 13-10. “They’re starting to make errors, take advantage of it!” Trofimenkoff told her team on the court. However, Ukraine quickly regained its tempo after the referee made two bad calls in a row and grabbed the lead at 16-14. Foronda didn’t budge and rallied for a kill. Burke notched one herself to tie the set at 16. Ukraine somehow found the lead again at 19-16, when Boren called a timeout. The Americans still struggled and Ukraine built its lead to as many as five points before a kill by Reese gave the Americans back the ball for a long rally that Ukraine won. Trofimenkoff had a hopeful block for the Americans but was disappointed by a missed serve that gave Ukraine their third win at 25-19. “We did not have the best choices in strategies and did not completely execute our game plan,” team captain Pia Marie Paulone said. “They outperformed us.” “At this elite level of the game, we should feel good about how we played even though it was a loss today. I do feel as if we played well today,” Foronda said. The Deaflympics “is not over,” Boren told his players after the game. “Keep your chins up!” The Americans still have a chance at gold medal, since play is round robin and the top four teams advance to bracket play. The U.S. plays Japan on Wednesday. |
Latest News
Donate
|